(INDIANAPOLIS)(AP) - Authorities say thieves stole the batteries from more than two dozen buses belonging to a suburban Indianapolis school district, leading it to cancel classes for the day.

The damage to the Warren Township district buses was discovered about 5:30 a.m. Monday, after which district officials first delayed the start of school before deciding to call off classes.

District Superintendent Peggy Hinckley says at least 26 buses were damaged over the weekend. She says thieves cut cables to steal between 50 and 60 batteries from the buses, many of which have dual battery systems.

The thieves apparently got in by cutting a hole in the barbed-wire fence surrounding the district's bus facility on the east side of Indianapolis.